Germany is once again part of the UN Security Council for a two-year stint. But the council’s inability to put a stop to the violence in Syria and Yemen in recent years shows the need for reform is more urgent than ever. Can Berlin make a difference?
By Dietmar Pieper
Photos
Natan Dvir / DER SPIEGEL
January 10, 2019
On a day in spring, one that is not unimportant for Christoph Heusgen’s career, the German diplomat is wearing a bright red football jersey. It is the end of May and four teams from four different regions of the world have gathered on the grass next to the United Nations headquarters in New York. There are a handful of former professional players on hand for the event and Heusgen, Germany’s UN ambassador, is playing goalkeeper. The occasion is a celebration of football, but also of its host, Germany.
The tournament came just a few days before the UN General Assembly was to decide what countries would be selected for temporary membership seats on the UN Security Council. And Germany was ultimately a nearly unanimous choice, receiving 184 of 193 possible votes. Since Jan. 1, it has once again been part of the 15-member group.
“We launched our campaign with a clear agenda,” Heusgen says in his roomy corner office in the German House, located not far from UN headquarters. And many countries, he says, expressed interest in the German idea. “We will push for a comprehensive concept of security. Issues like conflict prevention, climate change and security, the security implications of human rights and women in peace processes must play an important role.”
Heusgen is a guarded person, a man with perfect posture and deliberate gestures. His words are reserved and carefully considered, a manner of communication he honed as a Chancellery official, where he served as Angela Merkel’s foreign policy adviser for 12 years. The 63-year-old Heusgen appears to have adopted the chancellor’s cautious style.
In the last several years, the world has become louder and rougher around the edges, making Germany’s Security Council membership a potentially challenging undertaking. It remains to be seen how far Berlin will get with its idea of conflict prevention when others seated around the horseshoe-shaped table aren’t afraid to use military force if their national interests are at stake. Clever ideas and appeals to human rights aren’t likely to impress countries like China, Russia and the U.S.
The chancellor seems to hold a similar view, as evidenced by a line in her traditional New Year’s speech in which she mentioned the Security Council: “It is in our own interest to take on more responsibility.” It is a sentiment she has voiced frequently in recent months as a way of getting Germans used to the idea that foreign and security policy are becoming more difficult. She did not, however, give any indication as to what, exactly, this new responsibility would mean for the country.
‘Difficult Decisions’
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has also declined to offer specifics. “By way of the Security Council membership, we are moving closer politically to the crises and conflicts,” he said in a recent interview. “We won’t be able to duck away from difficult decisions.”
Does that mean that Germany should get involved if its allies take military action again in response to the renewed used of chemical weapons in Syria? Not necessarily, Maas said. “There are a number of crises in which we play mediating roles. In such instances, it may be wiser to exercise restraint so as not to lose that position.”
Categories: Americas, Europe, Germany, United Nations